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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. HORNE.

YALVBFOB MOTORS. No. 541,752. Patented June 25, 1895.

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UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER'HORNE, or GATESHEAD, ENGLAND.

VALVE FOR MOTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,752, dated June 25, 1895.

Application filed May 16, 1894. Serial Ho. 511,481. (No model.) Patented in England January 3, 1894, No. 186.

.To ttZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER HRNE,-a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Victoria Works, Gateshead-on-Tyne, in the county of Durham, England, have invented Improvements in Valves for Distributing Fluid to Motors, such as direct-acting steam-pumps, (for which Letters Patent have been secured in Great Britain, No. 186, dated January 3, 1894,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in valves for distributing fluid to mo tors, such as those of direct acting steam pumps, the object being to cause the slide valve of such a motor, when attaining a position wherein one of the main steam ports of the engine cylinder is in communication with the exhaust, to be in an automatic way, rapidly moved to the end of its stroke, so as to thereby quickly place the said port in fullj communication with the exhaust, and the main steam port to the opposite side of the piston in full communication with the steam chest, and consequently in a position for mak ing the return stroke of the engine piston, and soon with respect to each stroke.

Apparatus to operate in the manner described can be constructed in various forms.

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal Vertical section, partly in elevation, and Fig. 2 is a cross section, showing a motor cylinder .with an arrangement'of apparatus according to this invention for operating the slide valve in the manner referred to. Fig. 3 is a plan thereof, but with the cover oi the steam chest andthe main and supplementary valves removed. Fig. 4 is a detail view. I I 1 is a valve which may be of the ordinary D section, and will be hereinafter called the main valve. It is provided with twohorizontal cylindrical chambers 2, 2 fitted with steam tight pistons 3, 3 respectively, these pistons being secured at their outer ends to a frame 4 that is connected direct to the main valve rod or spindle-5, but is entirely free or clear of-the saidm'ain valve. The said chambers 2, 2*. are provided with ports 6, 6 respectively that leadupward by passages 7, 7 to ports 8, 8 respectively in a second valve face 9, the two passages 7, 7 crossing each other as shown. 10 is a central port leading down from the said second valv-e face 9 into the exhaust port or cavity 11 of the main valve.

On the second valve face is placed a slide block 12, hereinafter called the supplementary valve, which, when moved,travels in an opposite direction to the main valve 1. This supplementary valve is operated by means of a rod or spindle 13 from a set of connected levers. In the example shown the said rod or spindle 13 is connected to a link'14 provided with fixed tappets 15, 15 between which works a cross bar 16 carried by a pair of levers 17 pivoted at 18 and connected bya link 19 toa second pair of levers 20. This latter pair of levers is mounted to turn upon a fulcrum pin 21' adjustably fixed to a support 21, the .upper ends of the said pair of levers carrying across bar 22 that works between tappets 23,

23 on a link 24: jointed to the valve rod or spindle 5, while their. lower ends are arranged to work in tubular guides 25 pivoted in a bracket 26 fixed to the piston rod 27.

The cross bars 16 and 22 may conveniently be each made with a central eye portion 16* or 22* as shown, to fit thelink 14 or 24 carrying the tappets between which it works.

With the arrangement described it will be seenlthat by the reciprocation of the piston rod, the levers 17 and 20 will cause the main and supplementary valves 1 and 12 respectively to reciprocate intermittently and in opposite directions to each other, which is very important, insuring as it does sufficient in gross and egress of steam into and from the recessed into the steam chest cover 29 and is adapted by means of a spring 30 and set screw 30 to keep the main slide valve 1 tight against thevalve face 31 of the cylinder 32 upon which it works. In the said valve face 31 are formed two auxiliary ports 33, 33 (Fig. 3) by means 'of which a regulated quantity of steam eanbe admitted to each of the main steam passages 34, 34 of the engine cylinder in turn, after steam has been out off from such passages by the main valve 1.

main valve is made of such a length at that For this purpose the said side at which the auxiliary ports are situated, as shown at l in Fig. 4, that each of these ports in turn will be open to steam when the corresponding main steam port is covered by the main valve.

Each of the auxiliary ports 33, 33 communicates with a chamber or 35" that is in communication with the corresponding main steam passage 34 or 34 by a port 36 that is controlled by a regulating valve 37 capable of being operated from the exterior of the valve chest 38 as shown in Fig. 2.

39 is the main exhaust port; 40, the motor L i steam chest 38. The main and supplementary piston.

4-1 41 are two ports in the supplementary valve 12 for admitting steam to the chambers -2 2 alternately when they are brought, by the relative movement of the valves, over the ports 8, 8 respectively.

2 is an exhaust cavity in the under side of the supplementary valve for placing the said chambers 2 2* alternately in communication with the exhaust passage 10.

The operation of the arrangement is as follows: Assuming the main valve to be at the right hand end of its stroke, and the engine piston to be at the left hand and of its stroke as shown, then the right hand main steam port 34: will be open to the main exhaust port 39 through the cavity 11 in the under side of the main valve 1, and the left hand main steam port 34 will be getting full steam, the

ports 8, 8 on the loack or top of the main valve being at this time each closed. gine piston will now be traveling from left to right and at a certain point of its stroke, the main valve spindle 5 will, by the action on the tappet 23 of the cross bar 22 of the pair j of levers 2.0, begin to move the main valve to the left-the main valve spindle 5 moving in an opposite direction to the pistonnntil it 3 outs ofi steam from the left hand main steam port 34?, but as the auxiliary port 33 in connection with this main steam port will not yet be closed, the engine piston will now he getting a regulated quantity of steam through the said auxiliary port, the quantity depending upon the position of the corresponding regulating valve 37. \Vhile the main valve is thus traveling from right to left into the above named position, the supplementary valve rod 13 will be moved by the action of the cross bar 16 of the pair of levers 17 on the tappet 15, in an opposite direction to that of the main valve rod 5 and when the main valve attains a position in which the cavity 11 therein places the main steam port 34 in communication with the main exhaust port 39, the supplementary valve 12 will have been moved into such a position as to open the port .8 of the right hand piston chamber 2 to steam through the left hand port 41 in said supplementary valve, so as to admit live steam to such chamber, and to open the left hand piston chamber 2 to the central exhaust passage 10 through the exhaust cavity 4-2 in the under side of the supplementary valve, so as to al- The n- 1 low the steam which is in this chamber to exhaust down the said passage 10 into the main exhaust 39. When this takes place, the main valve 1 will be thrown, by the action of the steam admitted to the right hand piston chamber 2, from right to left until the exhaust passage 10 is cut off from the left hand chamber and live steam is cut off from the right hand chamber. In this Way the main valve will be rapidly moved to the end of its stroke, thereby quickly placing the port 3-1 in full communication with the exhaust port 39 and the main steam port 34 in full communication with the valves being now in the opposite positions to those shown, in which they were at starting, will be in proper positions for enabling the engine piston 40 to make its return stroke,

. viz: from right to left, during one part of which the main valve will be thrown to the right. The above described operations are repeated for each succeeding stroke.

It will be seen that should the motor stop with the main valve 1 in such a position as to cover both the ports 3% and 34% there will be no difficulty in restarting the motor, as steam can be admitted to the proper end of the cylinder by means of one or other of the auxiliary ports 33, 33.

What I claim is 1 For distributing actuating fluid in motors such as those of direct acting steam pumps, apparatus comprising a main valve having steam chambers fitted with pistons or pln-ngers and provided with crossed ports and passages for alternately admitting steam to and exhausting steam from said chambers, and a supplementary valve adapted to control said steam and exhaust ports and passages and arranged to move independently of and relatively in an opposite direction to said main valve, substantially as herein described for the purpose specified.

2, For distributing actuating fluid in motors such as those of direct acting steam pumps, apparatus comprising a main slide,

valve provided with steam chambers and with steam and exhaust ports and passages pistons fitting said steam chambers and c0nnected to a part independent of said main valve so that the latter can move independently of said pistons, a supplementary slide valve arranged to control said steam and exhaust ports and passages and place each of said chambers alternately in communication with steam and exhaust, and means for causing saidinain and supplementary valves to reciprocate always in opposite directions to each other substantially as herein described for the purpose specified.

3. In a double acting motor, the combination with the motor cylinder, of a slide valve formed with two steam chambers, with steam passages leading from each of said chambers to ports in a valve face, and with an exhaust passage, two pistons arranged to fit the said chambers so that said main valve can move opposite directions to each other, substan-- tially as herein described.

4. For distributing actuating fluid in a motor, a motor cylinder having main steam ports and passages leading to the respective ends of said cylinder, an exhaust port, and auxiliaryports connected with said main steam passages by auxiliary passages, a main slide valve adapted to control said main and auxiliary ports and so as to leave open for a time each of said auxiliary ports in turn after closing the corresponding main port, said main slide valve having two steam chambers fitted with pistons and provided with ports and passages for alternately admitting steam to and exhausting steam from said chambers, a supplementary valve for controlling said ports and passages, and mechanism for operating said main and supplementary valves substantially asherein described for the purposes specified.

5. The combination with a double acting 0 motor cylinder having in its valve face auxiliary ports connected with the main steam passages of a main slide valve adapted to close each of said main steam ports in turn before closing the corresponding auxiliary port, and formed with .two steam chambers, crossed steam passages extending from said chambers to a valve face on its upper side and with an exhaust passage leading from its upper side to the exhaust cavity in its under side, pistons fitting said steam chambers and connected with a rod separate from said main valve, a supplementary slide valve arranged to work on top of said main valve and control the steam and exhaust passages therein, means for keeping said valves in working contact with each other, and mechanism substantially as described for intermittently operating said valves and causing them to move in opposite directions to each other substantially as herein described for the purposes specified. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' ALEXANDER HORNE.

Witnesses:

THOS. J AMESON, JOHN JAMES BRAMWELL. 

